Choke – Desiphon (EP)
Release Date: 16th September 2022
Label: Translation Loss Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Hardcore.
FFO: Plague Years, Muldrotha, Cloud Rat.
Review By: Jason James
For a lot of bands, it seems that sometimes they can have a lot of problems keeping their songs short and focused. Sometimes they meander, usually to the benefit of the resulting composition, but sometimes not so much. And that’s how it should be. Artistic expression should be artistic expression, no matter what. For Green Bay, Wisconsin natives Choke, however, beating around the bush is not a mantra they appear to want to aspire to. With the imminent release of the debut EP, Desiphon, they aim to make their point shortly but definitely not sweetly.
Track 5, a song called Wraith, clocks in just under six minutes. So far, so normal, right? The other four tracks on this EP clock in at just under seven minutes. That’s not seven minutes EACH, that’s seven minutes TOTAL! A 5-track EP in under 13 minutes is an impressive feat when one of the songs is six minutes long!
Desiphon arrives, makes its embittered point, and leaves again, leaving nothing but decimation in its wake. Each track is like a punch in the face – a short, sharp shock that makes your head rock back and forth again involuntarily. There is no relenting in the attack, a savage beatdown that leaves the listener in a heap, as if they unwittingly wandered into an MMA bout.
Choke, comprising Dusty Hansen on Vocals, Caleb Cheslock and Eric Kwiatkowski on Guitar, Chris Piette on Drums and Slayder Smett on Bass (although it must be noted that Taylor Dahlen played Bass on this EP), have set their stall out well as they look to gain fandom and notoriety. If their live shows turn out to be anything like this EP, then they should only do shows in buildings that are in line for demolition, because the venue will be obliterated by the time they are finished.
(3.5 / 5)
